Lorina's Blog

dog

I had my first 5k race in many years yesterday. It was a charity race to benefit the Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge, and there were doggies everywhere! My Beavis did not attend. In addition to not being athletic, he’s also a little bastard who can’t be trusted.

First things first, I had to start the race with my Go Go Juice. It’s a tradition.

I’d planned to run in shorts and a moisture wicking tee. I’m no sissy. I don’t mind chilly air. I’m really, really glad I wore a sweatshirt to the event, because from the time I got up to the time I got there, the wind had decided to go from gentle breeze to angry howl. I wished I’d worn gloves, too!

I also wished I’d worn pants. Not only was I cold, but my little short shorts got even shorter as I ran and … well … maybe I’m further away from my goal weight than I thought. But you know what else? So what? I have big legs. Big deal.

But, despite the wind and the cold, and the last stretch being a challenge because we were running INTO The one mile dog walk and people not having enough sense to stay on one side of the path, or keep their dogs on a shorter leash – #dogspreading! – and not running as fast as I’d have liked, I still won the 40+ age group, with my brother coming in second.

I’m not exactly sure what my final time was. It was a small race, and they didn’t have the giant clock at the end, and I didn’t stop Runkeeper right away. It was under 31 minutes, that’s all I know. I’ve done faster in the past. I’ll probably do faster in the future. But this was still good enough.

Halloween season is upon us! Yay! We already have one costume event – the Headbanger’s Ball – under our metal-studded belts, with possibly two more this week. Krispy Kreme’s Talk Like a Pirate Day on Thursday, where you can get a free dozen donuts for dressing like a pirate. Hell, I’d wear my pirate garb for no reason whatsoever, let alone for free food! And the next day is a Zombie Walk at the Steamtown Mall in Scranton. Don’t worry. There will be photos.

I’m planning Game of Throne costumes for Halloween itself. I’m going to attempt to be Daenarys, with Fritz as Ser Jorah. And sticking with the GoT theme, I’m making our Pekingese Beavis into Tyrion Lannister. He’s already an imp and has the personality to match. Ok, on a good day, he’s Tyrion. On a bad day, he’s more Joffrey. Aren’t I lucky?

The dog’s costume is done. Not only did I make him a red brocade doublet with black satin trim, but I went one more step into Crazytown. I made him a “Paw of the King” pin. What? He’s a dog. He can’t be Hand of the King.

Sculpey clay, some acrylic paints, and a self-stick pin back, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. Since Fritz’s reaction was “Where did you get this?!” not “When/how did you make this?!” I’m guessing he thinks it’s pretty good, too.

I tried to get him to hold the battleaxe in his mouth for the photo, but that wasn’t happening. Maybe I’ll have to whip up a Sansa or Shae costume for myself to accompany him if there’s any pet costume contests. Why not? I’m already nuts!

Losing my cat Gracie in June made me realize that I needed a new portrait of her. I hadn’t painted her since she was a bat-eared kitten. And all the other cats since then… I hadn’t painted them, either. When I went to the craft store to pick up the unfinished wood box that would become her urn, I got some art supplies, too, and got started on her picture. When I finished up her eyes, my own teared up. Gracie was gone, but she was staring right back at me.

And that’s what renewed my love of painting. That snowballed into painting my other cats who hadn’t yet been immortalized, painting Beavis again, doing a few other paintings as gifts, and revamping my site for my art, which had gone stagnant the past few years.

So thank you, Baby Grace, for nine years of love and laughter, and reminding me that painting is something I love doing, need to be doing, and should be doing.

It’s not spam if you’re posting one of your own sites to your own site, right? Networking. Yeah. That sounds better. Anyway, I’m happy to announce that I’ve re-launched my website for my artwork. Here you go: Lorina’s Pet Portraits

I gotta say, though, that trying to figure out pricing is difficult. Why is it so hard to place a value on your own worth? On one hand, I don’t want to take anyone to the cleaners. On the other, I think I’m a damn good artist, and don’t want to charge so little that I’d earn more working a minimum wage job. On the other, other hand, because apparently, I have extra arms now, I’m much happier painting than any job I’ve ever had.

So… yeah. If you know anyone who’s totally nuts about their pets, please send my link their way. Or think about what a kickass gift a portrait would make for holidays, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays.